Climate summaries

These web pages are a source of information for those interested in the climate of the UK. The pages are updated each month to reflect the latest month's weather across the UK. A timetable for publication of the climate summaries is available below.

Those interested in climate change and predictions of future climates should also visit the Climate Change pages.

UK last month

February 2015

At the start of the month, the UK was under the influence of a cold northerly weather type, but from 5th to 12th high pressure became established across the UK bringing largely quiet, dry weather. A rapid breakdown around 13th brought a return to more unsettled conditions, but at the same time it turned somewhat milder. The second half of February saw a generally westerly type, with temperatures fluctuating and some heavy rain and strong winds, especially in Scotland where there were significant snowfalls across the mountains, but with some quieter days in between.

The provisional UK mean temperature for February 2015 was 3.5 °C, which is 0.1 °C below the 1981-2010 long-term average. Relative to average, south-west England was coldest and Northern Scotland mildest. Rainfall was a little below average in many areas, especially north-east England and eastern Scotland, however parts of western Scotland and south-east England were wetter; the overall UK rainfall total was 89% of average. Sunshine was well above normal in most eastern areas, and the UK received 111% of average sunshine hours.

A maximum temperature of 15.6 °C was recorded at Fyvie Castle (Aberdeenshire) on the 18th. A minimum temperature of -10.9 °C was recorded at Bewcastle (Cumbria) on the 3rd. In the 24 hours ending at 0900 GMT on the 1st of March, 49.8 mm of rain fell at Tyndrum (Perthshire). A wind gust of 77 mph was recorded at Berry Head (Devon) on the 13th. A snow depth of 21 cm was recorded at Aviemore (Inverness-shire) on the 1st.